- as Ghana ranks 149th in global women in governance
Oheneyere Gifty Anti, a Gender Advocate and Motivational Speaker has expressed worry about low participation of Ghanaian women in governance, stressing that Ghana was recently ranked 149th in global ranking of women in governance.
The ace journalist has disclosed that statistics by the Institute of Democratic Governance (IDEG) show that Ghanaian women are faring poorly in governance, ranking 149 in global standings while East African nation Rwanda leads the chart.
According to her, the East African nation of Rwanda, which has seen vicious atrocities of war, was ranked number-one with sixty percent of Rwandan women in parliament. She lamented that Ghana could do better.
Gifty Anti has subsequently informed Ghanaian women that the low women empowerment narrative in Ghana can be changed, and somebody decided for the Rwandans that is how the Rwanda status quo should be done.
Gifty Anti has asked Ghanaian women to rise up and break the bias, emphasising that: “What a man has done can also be done by a woman. Women can change the narrative by doing their best to prove to themselves they can do it”.
Oheneyere Gifty Anti made these revelations when she delivered a keynote address at AngloGold Ashanti’s International Women’s Day Workshop, which was held under the theme ‘Gender Equality Today for a Sustainable Tomorrow’.
The event was organised by AngloGold Ashanti (AGA), Obuasi East Municipal and Fabulous Woman Network, a women’s advocate organisation that seeks the wellbeing of women.
The event brought female stakeholders such as Queen Mothers, District Chief Executives (DCE), Assembly Members and other Women Advocates together to strengthen the leadership roles of women governance structures.
Charging women to be up and doing in fighting for development in their respective communities, Gifty Anti told Ghanaian women that if they want development they have to unite in purpose and respect each other.
“Time has changed, so let us venture out and seek development for our communities; women too can lobby for roads to be constructed in their various communities,” she added
She told her fellow women that leadership is maturity and leadership is part of authority, hence they should put their shoulders to the new leadership wheel.
Earlier, Mr. Emmanuel Baidoo – the sustainability manager for AGA, told the gathering AGA is doing its best to enhance women empowerment to buttress their point that AGA takes women empowerment seriously, adding that this has transpired at the workplace of AGA and its catchment areas.
Mr. Baidoo disclosed that when AGA started operating as a mining company, the female workforce of AGA was three percent, but the female workforce population at AGA has jumped to 12.5 percent – which is a significant achievement.
According to him, this feat is not only visible at the administrative level of the company; also, many of the women are manning technical roles which used to be exclusively handled by men in years gone by.
Mr. Baidoo revealed that women are driving some of the dump trucks that cart the gold from the site, which is a clear indication that AGA is poised to push the ‘Gender parity Agenda’.
At the community level, Manager Baidoo stated that AGA is making sure women are not excluded from their activities, and further revealed that AGA had been authorised to empower over 300 females by giving them training.
These trainees, he disclosed, have access to the NBSSI fund, so AGA holds women in high esteem.
According to him, IWD is not new to AGA. In the years gone by, AGA used to celebrate it internally by encouraging them; but this year the celebration is quite different from what AGA has been doing.
Mrs. Fautina Amissah, the District Chief Executive (DCE) for Obuasi East, asked her colleague women to do away with the excuses, emphasising that if women do not fight for what is due them they will lag behind, while advising them to fully participate in the local governance system.
